Spending time with our customers in Canada is always worthwhile. Since I was last here, Canada has published its Defence Industrial Strategy, setting a clear direction for strengthening national capability, supporting long-term growth and deepening collaboration with trusted allies. These were central themes in my conversation with Prime Minister Mark Carney. Our growing team on the ground is bringing together our global expertise with strong local capability to support these ambitions. We’re committed to working closely with Canadian customers and partners to help build sovereign capability, strengthen resilient supply chains and support skills jobs and economic growth in Canada. I look forward to continuing these conversations and building on the strong momentum together.
Great to see this dialogue taking place. There is a strong historical legacy linking UK and Canadian aerospace and defence. For example Avro/Hawker Siddeley Canada, De Havilland Canada and today Canada’s Magellan Aerospace has a significant presence in the UK. With the rapidly changing geopolitical situation this relationship becomes more important than ever.
New Zealand published its Defence Capability Plan last year where it outlined that the future prosperity of the small island nation, which relies on trade for its economic wellbeing and the movement of people and capital, needs sustainable investment in defence and strengthening national capability. New Zealand’s economic security is inextricably tied to national security. Last week, New Zealand Defence Minister Chris Penk announced a $1.58 billion investment in New Zealand's offensive and defensive maritime security (drone systems, critical ship maintenance, and work to replace the ageing naval fleet) ahead of the Budget next week.
Dr. Charles Woodburn, what stands out increasingly in sectors like defence is that resilience, sovereign capability and industrial capacity are no longer being viewed separately from economic strategy. In my experience, the countries and businesses that will strengthen their position over the next decade are usually the ones investing early in trusted partnerships, domestic capability and supply chain resilience before those dependencies become critical under pressure.
Be good to connect and network!
Important signal, but Canada should be careful not to confuse local presence with sovereign capability. The real measure is not how many global primes are active here, but whether their partnerships leave behind Canadian-controlled capacity: supplier depth, engineering workshare, sustainment capability, skills transfer, and faster procurement execution. That is where defence industrial strategy becomes real.